Introduction to Sera People

Like most Tibetan monasteries, Sera has always been a crossroads for a variety of people from different walks of life. First and foremost, of course, it is home to a large population of resident monks (grwa pa). However, there are on a daily basis many non-monks found within the walls of the monastery (in both India and in Tibet). For example, pilgrims (gnas ’khor mkhan) from all over the Tibetan cultural sphere (and increasingly from non-Tibetan regions of China, and from abroad) will find their way through the monastery’s gates. As the closest to Lhasa of the three large Gelukpa (dge lugs pa) academies, with over two dozen temples in the space of a single square kilometer, Sera-Tibet is also popular with local lay worshippers (mchod mjal ’gro mkhan) from the capital and surrounding areas. In recent years, Lhasa school children (slob phrug) have begun to come to the monastery on field trips. This site provides essays describing each of these groups of People at Sera Monastery.